Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Pro Circuit owner Mitch Pay ton was also at Daytona to com pete. Payton wa s sc he d uled to r ac e in th e 90-m in u te IMSA Endurance Challenge on Februa ry 2, but he enco u n tered bad lu ck in both qualifying and the race. The team didn't get a qu alifyi ng tim e du e t o en gine problems, and Payton was only , ab le to complete two laps in the race after encountering the same problems. The AMA has announced th at Teamline h a s co n tra cte d for the n ame-in- title ri ghts to the 1996 AMA 750cc Supers po rt Champ ionsh ip . Tea m line w ill reward the serie s ' t op riders with a $1 0, 000 champi onship b o nus fund . Teamline market s officia l road racin g ap parel and merchandise. Kevin Sch wan tz will drive hi s Pepsi Max Chevrolet Lumina in a N ASCAR su pp ort event to th e 1996 Australian Tou ring Car Ch ampionship on February 25 in Bathurst in Au stralia. Am eri ca n Motor cycle In stitute will co n tin ue its 20- year tradition of prov id in g shop space to racers during Camel Mo torcycle Week in Dayton a Beach, Florid a . The shop w ill be open to racers on a first-co me-first-serve basis, begi nning on Friday n ight, March 1 thro u g h 'Sa t u r d a y nigh t, March 9. The shop will be open from 5 p .m. to 7 a.m. daily. For more in formation, call 800/874-0645. El Cajon Yamaha will provid e former AMA National MX Champion Marty Smit h w ith Yamaha YZs for use in his mo tocross schools . For more information, call 619/659-Q273. Ha rley-Davidsonis Ch ri s Carr circulated under the lap record during a recent test at Moroso Motorsports Park in West Pa lm Beach, Florid a . Carr and th e VRlOOO were under the lap record held by Rich Oliver. Sources at the test also sai d that T homas Stevens was under both the 600 an d 750cc Supersport lap records on hi s Kinko' s Kawasa kis . All the records, how ever, are unofficial. Form er AMA Nation al Road Race winner and BMW Legend Jody Nicholas sto pped by the Cycle New s offices recently to let us kn ow he is actively looking for em p loy me n t in th e m o t o r cy cl e ind ustry. Ni cholas, who lives in Santa Ana , Californi a, is hoping to land a position tha t wou ld allow h im to u se h is qualifications as a techni cal writer / editor . Nicholas wo uld also like to race in the u p com in g AHRMA N ation al s at Daytona. He won two road race Nationals in 1963 and an other in 1972, and he also w on a se as o n ch a m pionshi p a t Ascot Park in 1971, riding a No rto n. For more info rm ation, call 714 /73D-9257. Ed Kretz Sr., 1903·1996 . F orm er Dayton a 200 winner and revered Indi an wrecking crew member Ed Kretz Sr . di ed in h is Monterey Park, California, h ome on January 30. He was 83. One of the spo rt's most outstanding and su ccessful racing personalities, Kretz was fond ly known as mot or cycling' s "iron man." His racing career spanned almost three decad es, during which tim e he amasse d sev eral regional an d National championships . Kretz was an extreme ly versatile ride r, garnering su ccess on the oval tracks, IT courses and road race circuits of his tim e, ea rn ing him a ride with the Indian factory sq ua d . He scored the first major victory of his career in a 200-mile road race in Savannah, Georgia, in 1936, and he ascended to the pinnacle of the sport wi th his victory in the inaugu ral Dayton a 200, which w as held on a 3.2-m ile cou rse on the sands of Daytona Beach in 1937. Kretz is also cred ited w ith three AMA Grand Na tiona l victories: The Laconia, Ne w Hampshire 100-mil e road race in 1946; The Riverside, Cali fornia 100-mile IT steeplechase in 1948; and the Langho rne, Pennsylvania, 100-lap mile the same year. When the Indian factory struggled financially in the late '40s, Kretz swi tched to the Triumph brand and contin ued to remain competiti ve u ntil his retirement. He competed in ever y Daytona 200 from 1937-59. ' Kretz had been plagued by a series of strokes in recent months. He is sai d to have d ied peacefully in his residence of the pa st 50 years. He is su rvived by h is second wife, Mary Kretz, and h is son, Ed Kretz Jr. . Funeral serv ices were scheduled for February 5 at the Rose Hills Cem etery in East Los Angeles. Kretz will be laid to rest alon gsid e his first wi fe, Irene. Bob Bagnall Am on g th o s e a lre a dy entere d in AHRMA's m odern-bike classes for the March 4-5 Cl assics Da ys at Da yt ona International Speedway are Scott Zamp a ch and An drew St ro u d . Zampa ch . an d Stroud will race in th e BEARS race, with Zam pach ridi ng a Saxon -Triumph and Stroud on a Britt en . Whil e Joh n Su rt ees will not be ab le to atte nd AHRMA's Classics Days at Dayton a, so me of th e n otab le nam es from the past include former MV Agu sta racer Gia nfranco Bo n era, 15-tim e World Ch ampion Giacomo Agostini, six-time World Champion Jim Redman, an d six time-World Champion Ge off Duke. Contrary to reports published elsewhere, former 250cc Wor ld Champion Kel Carru thers will not attend the AHRM A event at Daytona due to previous commitments. But Gary Ni xon will. Despite not be ingmen tioned in an advertisemen t run in an earl ier issue of Cycle News, Nixon will again take part in the BMW Battle of the Legends at Day tona. • the Dunlop, th ou gh I still n eed a lot more experien ce on them." New Zealander Aaron Slight says he's ready to pu t the controversial signing of former Ducati rival and new teammate Ca rl Fog arty to hi s advantage thi s sea son. The new teammates recently concluded presea son tests in Ma lay sia . "Carl and I are in a team and we have to be sensible and put the past behind us," Slight sa id. "At the e n d of the da y, we've both been hired by Honda to win the world title. O ur relationship is defin it el y starting out on a professional basis and I hope the past can all be forgotte n, but it will take time . I can onl y for get so much at a time." Slight, who finished third in the 1995 World Superbike Champion ship for the third straigh t seaso n, is hoping to improv e on tha t in '96: "After finish ing third for th e pa st th ree seasons, I'll have to move number three o r so meone m ay th in k I ha ve a mortgage on th e p late," Slight sa id . "I p lan to win the titl e thi s year and I'm m or e d etermined than eve r to achi eve th at goal. Ha vin g a competitive teammate like Carl is the reas on I know I can w in the ti t le . I'm 'h y p e d up a n d th e though of beat ing Carl will m oti va te me." Slight got the early-season jump on Fogarty, la pping the Malaysian circ uit of Shah Alam at 1:27.13 - half a second faster tha n his British teammate. Winter Cas ua lty Dep t.: Chet Burk s, of Chet Burks Productions, suffered a broken lower rig ht leg in a fall on ice outside the firm 's office in Marietta, Georgia, on Saturday, February 3. Burks says crutches won't slow him down and the y should be h istory by the time his company begi ns its TV coverage of the 1996 AMA Nationa l Ch a m p ion sh ip Road Race Serie s on Prim e Network and Speedvision. According to Cycle N ews correspo ndent Berni e McGuire, Yamah a en gineers h ave bow ed to the wish es of Norifumi Ab e and have dramatically lowered the sus pens io n of hi s Yamaha YZR500 to accomodate his unusual riding style. "I was getting very tired w ith the setu p of the bike last year and h ave been askin g for th e bi ke to be low er ed ," Abe sai d . "Now tha t the bike has been low ered, I'm al ready feeling a lot less tired an d I'm excited abo ut how m uch better I can ride the bike." Abe is also us ing Micheli n ti r e s t his year on t he M ar lb o ro Rober ts bike: "Already I have noticed a big differ enc e in the tires," Abe ad ded. "I can stay ou t a lot longer on the Michelins and I think they're m uch better than NAMED: Graves Mo torsports in Va n Nuys, California, a s a di stributor for Ferodo Brakes. For more information, ca ll 818 /902-1 942. Graves h a s also m o ve d to 7645 Densmore Ave ., Van Nuys, CA 91406. A UTOGRAPH S I G NING: At th e Vitonix booth in the expo area at the San _ Diego Supercross, on February 10, 4-5 p.m. Team N oleen /Yamaha /Sizzler's Kyle Lewis and Team Prima l Im pu lse /B ill's Pipes / Honda rider Kim Askenazi are sched u led to appear. AUTOGRAPH S IG N ING: At 510 City Cycles in San Lui s Obispo, California, on February 16 from 4 to 9 p.m . Team Green's Ty Davis, Donny Book, Kelb y Pepp er and Larry Roeseler are sched ul ed to appear. For m or e info rm atio n, call 805/ 541-1741. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Roswell Fun Machines in Roswell, Georgia, on February 23 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Team Hond a' s Jeremy M cGrath and St eve Lamson, and H ond a o f Troy ' s Larry Ward , Mi ke Cr ai g, Bri an Swink a n d Mi ke Brown are sche d u led to appear. For m ore in formation , call 770 /4428460. NAMED: T.W.S. - USA Inc., in Ontario, Califo rn ia, as exclusive western regional im porters for LEM m in i cycles. Fo r m o re info rmation, call 909 /391 -3278 (voice) or 909 /391-3525 (fax). r--- - - - - - - - --- -- - - -- --- -~- -- - --- -- - - -- - -- ---- - ----- - ----- - - - --- - - , ([!ill ~ SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM Name _ A o This is a 0 New S u b s crip tio n o Renewal Address o a Please bill me City _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ o o B ill 3 payments of $12.67 Enclosed is m y 'check o r m oney order ~ Order Date State _ _ Zip _ C h a rge m y 0 _ Visa ~ 0 Master c a rd Signatu re _ Please start m y subscription to Cycle News: o Every week fo r one year (50 issues) for $38.00 (can b e billed 3 monthly payments) o Every week for two y e a rs (100 i ssues) for $70.00 o S i x months second class (25 issues ) for $19.00 One year (50 issues), 2nd class Canada or Me xico and all other foreign countries n :r: ..:.~~t:... L ~~O~(~S~":~)!:~I~s~n~ ::.r:a:r~e:a:a~~ MC/Visa# Exp iration Date ~ ~ Inc Send to: ~ ~ , • P.O. 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